Projects

When presenting this work we should remember that, as defined in its by-laws, the Tax and Competitivity Foundation is committed to research on taxation with the ultimate aim of improving the Spanish tax system and the processes or procedures for the application of taxes. It is clearly assumed that the Spanish tax system is not only identified with the set of rules that make up the tax system, but also includes the practice of applying the different taxes that make up the system, an area in which the Courts play a fundamental role.
In addition, the programme statement made by the Foundation ...

The interest that the environment and environmental protection measures are currently generating from the scientific, social and political angles is clear; focusing on the non-fiscal aim of environmental taxes, they should be looked upon as a tool designed to reduce or eradicate polluting behaviour.
The key international institutions – the IMF, the OECD and the EU – take the view that the extent to which these taxes have been developed is insufficient, since the revenues they generate fall well short of the average levels of our neighbouring countries; indirect taxes of an environmental nat...

Despite the latest legislative reforms affecting the tax treatment of patronage, Fundación Impuestos y Competitividad considers this to be the appropriate time to reflect on the status of the special scheme for non-profit entities, including the provisions on sponsorship and patronage.
The Foundation, after forming an “internal” work group, has invited a number of experts from varied backgrounds to take part in an open debate on matters pending in the scheme’s regulations and application, and its position from a comparative law perspective.
The aim was to arrive at an informed, experienc...

There can be no denying the importance of the real estate sector for the Spanish economy. According to Sofía Borgia Sorrosal, the real estate sector in Spain has not just covered the need for housing – it has actually, for a great many years, been the driving force behind the economy. It is a sector which generates a lot of employment directly but which at the same time involves a great many related activities, and for this reason, the effects of both its growth and of any recession in it impact the economy as a whole.
This view, which is broadly shared by analysts of the Spanish economy, a...

OVERVIEW
The Fundación Impuestos y Competitividad is of the view that close monitoring is required of the measures proposed in the various documents published within the framework of the OECD's Action Plan on BEPS, aimed at combating so-called "Aggressive Tax Planning" (hereinafter ATP").
The Action Plan on BEPS, as we all know, is made up of 15 actions intended to address different aspects which the OECD considers important in combating Aggressive Tax Planning (ATP), which is understood to refer primarily to operations which, without being "illegal" as such, give rise to structures whic...

OVERVIEW
The Fundación Impuestos y Competitividad is of the view that close monitoring is required of the measures proposed in the various documents published within the framework of the OECD's Action Plan on BEPS, aimed at combating so-called "Aggressive Tax Planning" (hereinafter ATP").
The Action Plan on BEPS, as we all know, is made up of 15 actions intended to address different aspects which the OECD considers important in combating Aggressive Tax Planning (ATP), which is understood to refer primarily to operations which, without being "illegal" as such, give rise to structures whic...

The objective of the Taxes and Competition Foundation (Fundación Impuestos y Competitividad) is to study and investigate the tax system with a view to improving and perfecting it, with a particular emphasis on aspects which impact the competitiveness of the Spanish economy.
It may appear that an analysis of fiscal decentralization which focuses in particular on the situation at regional or autonomous community level falls outside the scope of this objective, is related more to public financing issues. The fact is, however, that whatever the public finance formula established for the funding...

Spanish Value Added Tax’s 30-year anniversary is in 2016, having been first applied when Spain joined the then European Economic Community.
This celebration is in itself an argument and an opportunity to review Value Added Tax, which has been the subject matter of only two laws in its 30-year life, the primitive Law 30/1985 and the current Law 37/1992, in force for over 23 years. A long time has passed, endorsing the suitability of the review process addressed here.
We should recall the enthusiasm with which VAT was received, from a technical perspective, and confirm whether it currently...

The tax reform of 2014, for various reasons, did not address the review of wealth tax and inheritance tax despite the heavy criticism of the current regime from both a revenue and a technical viewpoint. The need to revise these taxes in depth was already mentioned in the Report by the Expert Committee for the Reform of the Spanish Tax System published in February 2014 and is on the priority list of almost all the political parties.
It is to be expected that, following the general elections scheduled for 20 December 2015, the Government emerging from the elections will look into the need to ...

Anti-abuse clauses are the mechanism typically used by different jurisdictions to avoid “abuse of tax rules” in a business environment characterised by the growing numbers of cross-border transactions taking place. Clauses of this kind are gaining increasing importance internationally, triggering their implementation by countries which have traditionally been reluctant to impose them, their recasting by other countries, the issue by supra-national organisations such as the European Commission of recommendations for their adaption, and their interpretation by tax authorities in highly expansive...